The classic image of youthful entrepreneurship is the lemonade stand in front of a house with one or two aspiring young entrepreneurs smiling out to passer-byes. With that in mind a nonprofit founded to support youth entrepreneurship named Lemonade Day is the recipient of a $120,000 donation from nonprofit Portfolios with Purpose® (PwP). The award was presented at a ceremony this past week in New York City.
The mission of Portfolios with Purpose is to raise money for charities through fantasy stock-picking contests. Reid Walker, Five T Investments chief investment officer and co-founder of Lemonade Day-Dallas, won first place in the most recent contest which awarded the cash prize to the charity of his choice. He directed the funds be used for ongoing Dallas-based Lemonade Day programs in which children in kindergarten through fifth grade are given the experience of starting their own lemonade business. Events are run across the US and Canada that are free to participate. Registration is open from April through late summer to participate.
“It’s because of players like Reid Walker and charities such as Lemonade Day that we are all inspired to continue raising the bar for such an enjoyable and rewarding contest. We hope that the momentum that PwP is gaining will enable us to continue to raise much-needed funds for charities of all types, both large and small,” stated Stacy Duran, Portfolios with Purpose co-founder and chief executive officer.
Founded in Houston in 2007 by entrepreneur Michael Holthouse and his wife, Lisa, Lemonade Day seeks to teach every child business and financial skills that are fundamental to entrepreneurship. Learning these skills at an early age better prepare children to be financially healthy adults. The hands-on Lemonade Day program in which kids start their own business — a lemonade stand — gives them the experience of earning money which they “spend, save and share based on their own goals”.
Lemonade Day now has 66 licensed markets in the United States and Canada and to six U.S. military bases. Over one million children and thousands of adult mentors have participated in Lemonade Day since 2007.
